On Friday Night, A Girl Died In New York
by JeSuisChele
Summary: AU. OC story. Movie Timeline with Graphic Novel Elements. First Watchmen Story. Summary: What if the Crimebusters meeting had been a success? What would it be like for a girl to live near the Watchmen? A story about family, friendship and Watchmen!
1. Chapter 1

**On Friday Night, A Girl Died In New York**

***

**Disclaimer and little warning:** Hello dear readers, thank you for taking the time to read my story, this is the first fanfiction I write and publish in over three years. This is an AU story based on both the graphic novel and the movie, I choose my favorite elements of both to create my little world, and I'll warn you already it's also an OC story, if this is not your cup of tea, I recommend the 'Back' arrow or the 'X' at the top of the window. Hihi. I don't have Alan Moore's writing talents, but I try my best. I would also like to thanks my Beta Reader "Rae Carson" who is helping me to hide the fact that English isn't my first language! Also, everything that you can not recognize as part of Watchmen is simple out of my imagination.

I hope you'll enjoy the story.

Reviews and constructive comments are always welcome!

**.T T.**

***

_**Chapter 1**_

_**May 11th, 1975.**_

"Okay everyone... please listen to me..." Dan Dreiberg, also known as Nite Owl, is desperately trying to get the attention of the heteroclite group of costumed adventurers that is standing in his living room. "So... huh... my sister, Michele, will be in town for three days, from the 17th to the 19th. She's flying in from Paris and I haven't seen her since... well, it's been almost four years since we saw each other. So, during those three days, my house is off-limits. Let's just say that my sister is not a fan of... well... this..." He points at the room full of his fellow Watchmen. "If you guys need anything, Ozymandias offered his headquarters if you need to meet and he'll be covering my patrol for 18th. So, I think we're good for the next week; we'll meet back here in two weeks. Meeting dismissed."

The group starts to disband as Laurie Juspeczyk, the second Silk Spectre, bids everyone good night before being teleported by her boyfriend, Jon, or Dr. Manhattan as the general public knows him, back to their apartment. Meanwhile Eddie Blake, The Comedian, exits by the front door, leaving behind him a long-lasting and putrid odor of cigar smoke.

The only two other Watchmen left behind are Adrian Veidt, the world's smartest man and the team's strategist known also as Ozymandias, and Daniel's crime fighting partner of the last five years, the enigmatic Rorschach. The former stops Nite Owl from leaving the living room, while Adrian waits by the front door.

"Can't patrol with Ozymandias. Can't handle investigation style. Too soft." The low, growling voice that comes through the ink-blotted mask is as emotionless as usual, but Dan feels kind of lousy to impose Adrian upon Rorschach, or perhaps the other way around. Adrian knowingly offered to take Daniel's evening of patrol, even if it meant spending a night following Rorschach's violent trail all around the worst parts of town, but Rorschach hasn't been told anything beforehand, since Dan knew very well that his partner wouldn't appreciate the idea of spending an entire night with the pacifist Adrian.

"Come on Rorschach, it's only for one patrol and I haven't seen my sister in years now. I don't wanna risk getting in a fight with her. And... and, I'm allowed to take three days to be with my only remaining family, why am I even discussing this..?"

Rorschach's only answer comes in the form of a groan as he lets Daniel through, shoving his gloved hands in the pockets of his battered trench coat, as he turns toward the basement to escape from the underground tunnel hidden underneath Dreiberg's house.

"It would seem that patrol will be an interesting experience this weekend."

"Yeah, sorry about him, but you know how he is. Just follow him and don't talk, that would probably be better. And thanks again for accepting to take my patrol, Adrian. Michele's visit is stressing me out and the last thing I want is to get into another fight with her about... well... my night activities... And, I guess I can tell you; I don't want Rorschach near my sister for any reasons. You know how he is around women... and I don't want to risk that. Just thinking about it is making me nervous. Sorry, I'm babbling, you probably had some better things to do than listen to this." Daniel laughs weakly, nervousness and excitement both trying to take control over his tone of voice.

"Do not worry, Dan. I will do my very best to keep Rorschach away from here. When is your sister arriving on Saturday?" Adrian's voice, regardless of the situation, is always so pleasant and calming, always polite, almost aristocratic; people can't help but feel safe when he is talking.

"Her plane's landing at 1:34 pm." Daniel sighs, while anxiously scratching the back of his head, a bad habit he had for as long as he can remember. "Oh! I meant to tell you, Michele would like you to come to dinner with us on Saturday if you don't have anything already planned."

Daniel watches the surprise on his friend's face for a second before Adrian goes back to his calm and composed exterior, he straightens his tie before answering. "Really? It is quite a surprising request since we saw each other only a small number of times, under less than favorable circumstances... I would not even expect her to actually remember me."

Dan can't resist but to burst out laughing at the blonde's obvious disbelief. The normally unflappable Adrian Veidt looking surprised and slightly embarrassed is certainly a sight to remember.

"Well, I'm just passing the message along. You may have met only a few times, but you seem to have made an impression on her... well, like every other 18-years-old girls, I guess. So, will you be joining us?"

As Adrian puts a finger to his pinched lips, thinking, Daniel crosses his fingers behind his back.

"Yes, I will join you both for dinner on Saturday, it will be a pleasure." Answers Adrian with a real, large smile that rarely seems to brighten his face after all these years of costumed adventuring.

"Perfect! We'll see you on Saturday then." Nite Owl claps a large hand on the back of world's smartest man. "Have a great week, Adrian!"

***

As I said before, reviews and constructive comments are always welcome!  
**.T T.**


	2. Chapter 2

**On Friday Night, A Girl Died In New York**

***

**Disclaimer and little warning:** Hello dear readers, thank you for taking the time to read my story, this is the first fanfiction I write and publish in over three years. This is an AU story based on both the graphic novel and the movie, I choose my favorite elements of both to create my little world, and I'll warn you already it's also an OC story, if this is not your cup of tea, I recommend the 'Back' arrow or the 'X' at the top of the window. Hihi. I don't have Alan Moore's writing talents, but I try my best. I would also like to thanks my Beta Reader "Rae Carson" who is helping me to hide the fact that English isn't my first language! Also, everything that you can not recognize as part of Watchmen is simple out of my imagination.

**Note :** The --- represents a change in P.o.V.

I hope you'll enjoy the story.

Reviews and constructive comments are always welcome!

**.T T.**

***

_**Chapter 2**_

_**May 17th, 1975.**_

JFK Airport, a young woman runs toward a man in glasses. She's petite and carries a red suitcase, her short, black hair swings around her head as she runs. The man lifts her up and spins her around, before enveloping her in an enormous hug. A usual airport image, young couple getting back together, except those two aren't a couple...

"Shelley! It's been way too long!" For a minute, he holds her at arm's length and looks at her, deciding in his mind that she looks well enough, before hugging her again.

"Dan! You're right, it's been too long. How are you, brother?" The girl straightens her glasses and looks up at her big brother. "You look great! You've been keeping in shape, haven't you?"

Daniel grabs the red suitcase from his sister's hand and wraps an arm around her shoulders as they walk out of the airport and make their way back to Daniel's house. Looking at the two, no one would guess that they are siblings, other then their dark hair and eyes and their glasses, nothing really connects them physically. Michele is short, while Daniel stands at 6'1", she's petite but curvy and her brother is all muscular underneath his academic nerd-like appearance.

They both changed a lot since the last time they saw each other; the most notable difference is that both of them appear to be happy now. The last time was a little over three years ago, it had been 7 months after their father's death and had left them each with a small fortune. Michele had decided to use that money to visit Europe and follow her passion -- painting. She had recently started to make a decent living as a painter and had been living in Paris for over two years. Daniel had decided to use his money to continue and ameliorate his career in crime-fighting, a decision that his sister didn't approve of. That very fact had been the reason of their lack of contact for the first year of Michele's exile. Just before leaving, the siblings had gotten into a fight about Dan's nightly activities, on that front, the youngest Dreiberg agreed with her late father, specially since he had passed away. _"You'll get killed by some low-life scum and I'll end up alone!" _had been the last sentence they exchanged in person and ever since, Daniel had wanted to settle this argument with her.

_This week-end needs to be perfect. If she thinks that I gave up crime-fighting, maybe we can go back to the way things used to be..._ This though is his mantra for over a month now, he recites it to himself once again as his sister steps inside his house. _I took down the Watchmen and Minutemen pictures and removed all traces of crime fighting related stuff for the top floors... Did I lock the door to the basement? Yes... yes, of course I did._

"So, this is it. Come, I'll give you a tour." Daniel has always been proud of his house, the first thing he bought after his father passed away. "Here we've got the living room, obviously. Back here is the kitchen..."

Daniel interrupts himself as his sister starts laughing, he hasn't heard her laughter in so long, it almost surprises him. He turns around and she smiles at him.

"I've been here before Dan, remember?"

"You're right, sorry... Come upstairs, I'll show you your room."

Daniel opens the door to the guestroom and settles the suitcase on the bed. Michele walk up to bed, lays down, and curls up in a ball.

"I'm so tired. Would you mind if I took a little nap?"

"No problem, go ahead. I need to run some errands, anyway. I'll be gone like half a hour or something." Daniel turns to leave the room and then turns around to throw over his shoulder. "...Oh, and you'll be happy to learn that tonight, we are having dinner with Adrian."

"Another great reason to take a nap and be in the best shape possible for tonight."

Daniel closes the door, leaving his sister alone to take her nap. As he walks down the stairs, he has the feeling that this weekend will be a turning point in their lives.

---

Michele wakes up in the guestroom at his brother's house. The girl stretches and after checking her watch, she realizes that her nap only took about hour, Daniel is probably not back yet. She gets up and heads downstairs, into the kitchen to make herself coffee. After a little fight with Daniel's expansive and complicated coffee maker, the young black-haired woman manages to fix herself a cup. She sits down in her brother's small kitchen and starts sipping the warm beverage. Looking around, she sees Daniel's owl calendar on the wall and smiles. Her big brother has always been a bit of a nerd, something that helps Michele realizes how much she missed him all these years. As she reminisces, the door leading to the basement springs open.

"Dreiberg. Got informations abou..." The masked man stopped dead on his track, his gloved hand still on the doorknob. Michele turns on her chair and stares at him from the table, visibly taken aback by the man's surprising appearance; fedora, ink-blotted mask and _Is that dried blood on his trench coat?._.

"I'm not the Dreiberg you were looking for, am I?" Michele continues to look at him, she knows she should be worried that some weird man in a mask comes out of no where, specially when she's alone at Daniel's, but somehow the only thing crossing her mind is to make him talk again.

"What date is today?" Says the man as he lets go of the doorknob and stuffes his hand back into his pocket, he stays in the doorway, unmoving...

"May 17th. Dan went out for some errands, he'll probably be back in a few minutes if you want to wait for him." For a moment, they both stare at each other, deep brown eyes looking into a black inkblot. "I'm Michele. Daniel's sister."

"17th? Hurm. Should leave. Dreiberg didn't want us near you. Said you don't like vigilantes." From the doorway, he stares at her, she can feels it even if she can't see his eyes, and even despite his lack of a real face, his strange way to express himself, and the possible blood on his trench coat, she doesn't feel afraid as she knows should; all she feels is a cautious interest in him.

"Yeah! That's exactly what I said. So, I really wonders what the hell you're doing here Rorschach!?! I asked for three days and you can't even respect that." Daniel was standing in the kitchen's door with grocery bags, his face red. He turns toward his sister. "Shelley, can you leave us please?"

Michele grabs her coffee and makes her way toward the guestroom, but instead of entering it, she just sits at the top of the stairs, out of view. She sees that Dan is angry, he's talking loudly, which she knows to be a really rare thing. Looking down through the railing, she can see her brother's back, but not the other man, even though she can hear both their voices clearly.

"What are you doing here Rorschach? Wasn't it clear at the meeting that NOBODY was to come here for those three days, and that includes you?"

"Though it was 16th. Must have forgotten to sleep. Got information about 'babies kille..."

"Rorschach, I don't care if you've got information. Anyway, we dropped that case three months ago... you've kept following that case on your own, haven't you? No. No! You leave. Now. And you don't come back while my sister's here."

"But..."

"No 'buts'! Just leave, Rorschach... please."

From upstairs, Michele imagines that Daniel must be pointing at the door, then there is a groan, the slam of a door and the sound of someone locking it. Before Daniel can realize that he's being spied on, the girl sneaks into the guestroom and sits on the bed, pondering what just happened. The masked man and her brother are both vigilantes and Dan wanted to hide it from her, and according to what he told the man he calls Rorschach, it appears that there are more of them. Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door and her brother's voice.

"Michele, I talked to Adrian earlier, he'll pick us up in a hour. You think you can be ready..?" Michele opens the door, Dan is leaning in the doorway, nervously scratching the back of his head. Even if she's only 5'5", she knows that right now she's making him feel small and stupid, she mastered her father's "You are just a kid" glare years ago. She wants to ask him a bunch of question about what he was trying to do and why was he trying to hide this from her? But for some reason the question that escapes her lips is "Who is he?"

"That was Rorschach... he is... my partner." Daniel enters the room and sit on the bed, putting his head on his fist. "I told everyone that I didn't want them to come here while you're here, but he's... special, for lack of better words. I hope he didn't frighten you too much."

"Frighten me? No, no. Intrigue me would be more like it." She says as she looks at her watch. "Shit! Adrian will be here in like twenty minutes! I need to take a shower and change!"

Gabbing her suitcase, Michele rushes into the bathroom, leaving her bother laughing in the guestroom. Even if she feels a bit ridiculous to be this excited to see someone she only meet a few times, Michele's little crush on Adrian is nothing new. Dan had meet Adrian a few months before their father passed away and being the polite person that he is, Adrian went to the funerals, where he met Michele. The two of them saw each other a few times in the following weeks before Michele left for Europe and it was obvious to everyone that they got along amazingly. When Daniel and her had started communicating again, her second letter asked news about Adrian.

After a nice shower, putting on a knee-high black dress and giving her hair a Twiggy look, she opens the bathroom door to let the stream out, she hears voices downstairs and smiles when she recognises Adrian's calm and polite tone. While applying her make-up, she listens to the men in the living room.

"...he was here?"

"Yes, here, in the kitchen, with Michele. I arrived and heard him talking... I rushed into the kitchen and he was there, telling my sister that I had said to everyone that she didn't like vigilantes! God! Can you believe him?! He really doesn't have any respect for anyone."

_How can Adrian know about that Rorschach character...?_

"Are you really surprised by his lack of respect? You, of all people, should know what he is like. But yes, I do agree with you, it is not safe that he walks into your house like this, especially after you requested that nobody do so. Also, I have to say that in my opinion, it does not seem safe for anyone to be with Rorschach in a small enclosed space for any amount of time."

"I know, I know..." Dan looks up has he hears his sister walking down the stairs, a large smile on her face. Michele's eyes met Adrian's, she can hear Daniel say : "Wow. I guess we're..." ...and then it's like silence took over, like there's only two persons in the room. She smiles, he smiles back - not his aristocratic smile, a real genuine smile.

"Hello Adrian."

"Michele, you look stunning." He extends his arm and she takes it, then says over his shoulder. "Are you ready to go, Daniel?"

She can hear Daniel sighs and she giggles a bit. She has this feeling that this weekend could be a turning point in their lives.

***

Good? Bad? Let me know. **- .T T.**


	3. Chapter 3

**On Friday Night, A Girl Died In New York**

***

**Disclaimer and little warning:** Hello dear readers, thank you for taking the time to read my story, this is the first fanfiction I've written and published in over three years. This is an AU story based on both the graphic novel and the movie, I choose my favorite elements of both to create my little world, and I'll warn you already it's also an OC story, if this is not your cup of tea, I recommend the 'Back' arrow or the 'X' at the top of the window. Hihi.

I don't have Alan Moore's writing talents, but I try my best. I would also like to thanks three important persons; first, my Beta Reader "Rae Carson" who is helping me to hide the fact that English isn't my first language, second, "DJ K.", my personal Veidt expert and last but not least, "NymphadoraxLestrange" for her endless encouragements.  
Also, everything that you can not recognize as part of Watchmen is simple out of my imagination.

**  
Note:** The --- represents a change in PoV.  
**Note 2:** I apologize that the first two chapters contains some mistakes, I mistook the original files and the ones my Beta Reader verified and uploaded the original versions of the chapters instead of the edited versions. Oops...

I hope you'll enjoy the story.  
Reviews and constructive comments are always welcome!  
**.T T.  
*****

_**Chapter 3  
May 18th, 1975.**_

It's early morning as Michele wakes up. She looks around the dimly lighted room and with difficulty tries to recall the order of events from last night—events that eventually lead up to her in a soft and comfortable bed that isn't in the guestroom at Daniel's. To her right, Adrian Veidt is sound asleep on a loveseat, his legs draped over one armrest and his always-perfect hair instead ruffled and spread on the opposite armrest. One could even confuse him for a normal young man instead of the statuesque and athletic genius that he is. The girl tries to shake her head in vain hope that yesterday evening will sort itself out in her memory. She remembers arriving at Dan's and taking a nap, followed by her encounter with a weird and - as her now well-rested brain realizes - scary man in an animated mask, Daniel's yelling at the masked man and then she and Dan going out for dinner with Adrian. Most of dinner is still present in her mind: the food she ordered, the jokes they exchanged, telling both men about her time in France. She also elaborated on the other reason behind her trip to New York besides visiting Daniel—the auction of few of her paintings on Sunday. She vividly remembers her completely obvious flirting with Adrian. Her memories start to get clouded after all that...

Dan wanted to go home after the restaurant, but she wants to go out and celebrate her first time in New York since she had exiled herself to Europe. As always, the older Dreiberg ends up agreeing to his sister's plan and the three of them headed toward a loud and crowded club. She makes a fool of herself on the dance floor and Dan and Adrian sit on the sidelines while laughing at her pathetic attempt at dancing. She knows very well that this place is not her companions' cups of tea, and it's normally not hers either, but tonight she just wants to have fun and stay out of the house. Michele's already had more than a bit to drink as David Bowie's "Fame" starts blasting through the speakers; then she notices Daniel gesturing to get her attention. As she walks closer, she sees a red-headed girl pressing herself against Adrian. Michele can also see that Adrian is being his typically-polite self in trying to let this woman know he is not interested in her.

Looking back now, Michele's not too sure what made her do what she did next, but it probably had something to do with good old-fashioned jealousy. She arrived back at their table, glaring at the girl who is still all over the blonde man. The redhead is so close to Adrian that the only way Michele can divert her attention is physically. In one smooth maneuver, Michele pushes the other girl out of the way and straddles Adrian's knee to get in better position. Next, she bends down and presses her lips against his while keeping her hands on the back of his head. No need to lay it on too thick—they're just getting rid of one of Adrian's seemingly endless stream of unwanted admirers.

For the second time that day, the whole world falls silent to Michele; all that she can see and feel is Adrian...his hands behind her head and on the small of her back, his lips on hers, his hair under her hands. She's not sure how long the moment lasts, but when they break apart, Daniel is looking at both she and Adrian with shock written all over his face.

Then Michele turns to the redhead and says coolly, "Weren't you just leaving?"

The other woman now looks angry enough to hit Michele, but what could she do? Adrian clearly wasn't making any attempt to fight off Michele's advances, so the redhead had no choice but to walk away. Victory! Michele shouts in the privacy of her own mind.

"Wow. Didn't expect that," says her brother, looking her and Adrian one after the other, completely awestruck.

She looks at Adrian who seems as dumbfounded as Daniel is. "Didn't expect it either, actually..." Somehow, logic briefly comes to her rescue and she chastises her brother. "And thanks for nearly blowing our cover, Dan! How am I supposed to convince that red-haired floozy that Adrian and I are a couple with you gawking at the two of us like a mackerel?"

A short time later, Adrian invites the two of them to his place for board games and fun conversation. However, Daniel begs off with a lame excuse, bids them good night, and tells Michele he won't wait up as he places a key in her hand and winks before leaving. The girl was very grateful she wasn't looking in Adrian's direction at the time; she could feel her cheeks redden with embarrassment. Michele and Adrian faced off in a game of chess. She recalls blurting aloud, "You and Dan are so much alike—you both consider a game of chess to be a romantic way to spend an evening."

Adrian's eyebrows shot to his hairline and he replied, "In what way is this supposed to be a 'romantic evening'?"

For the umpteenth time that night, Michele felt herself blushing. "Never mind," she mumbled, "I didn't mean to imply anything, it's the alcohol talking." Then she looked up and saw Adrian smiling playfully. Damn him for teasing her! "I'd wager it has something to do with all the Long Island iced teas you drank. Were you aware each of those contains at least 5 oz. of liquor?"

"What?!" she exclaims. "No! I thought the 'iced tea' part meant it was mostly non-alcoholic!"

Chuckling, Adrian continues, "No, Michele. Long Island iced teas don't contain any iced tea at all. They only look like they do, since it's all clear liquors poured on the rocks with a splash of cola mixed in."

Now Michele's face goes more red than ever—it is quite disconcerting when a man like Adrian Veidt laughs at you. Although she'd never admit it to him, she was simultaneously fascinated and intimidated by his intelligence, and the last thing she'd wanted to do was look like some naïve little girl in his presence.

She abruptly stands up, declaring, "Look, I need to go home now, before I do something even more stupid or pass out in your apar--"

As if to demonstrate her point, Michele briefly blacks out and the next thing she recalls is being on Adrian's couch and making out with him, the most gorgeous man she's ever met.

Michele's face lights up with pleasure at the memory in spite of herself. She still can't really remember the sequence of events after leaving the club, but she knows they made it into a cab and recalls Adrian teasing her over the amount of alcohol she drank. At the time, she hadn't known why—blast those Long Islands! Hopefully, she didn't make too much of a fool of herself. All she recalls with with certainty is that she and Adrian had coffee on his couch. She doesn't remember falling asleep, nor how she ended up in the bed. She stands up, realizes she's a bit dizzy and sits back down. Ugh, hangover. Only the second one she's ever had in her life...at least this one seemed very slight.

On the couch, Adrian stirs a bit, she glances at the alarm clock on the end table. _7:29. _The minute passes and the alarm clock goes off, waking him up. As he stretches, a half-embarrassed Michele waves at him to get his attention; as he sees her, he gives her a half-smile.

"Good morning," he says pleasantly. "I hope you slept well? How is your head?" Passing his hand through his hair, he manages to mostly place it back in its usual perfect look. Seven words and she can hear his accent more pronounced than ever before and she likes it.

"Yes, I slept well, even if I was pretty confused when I woke up... I don't remember falling asleep." He laughs softly and she feels her face grow warmer. She probably looks like a lobster. "I hope I didn't make too much a fool of myself last night, I usually don't drink that much, I swear."

Adrian gets up from the couch, walks over to the bed, and sits down. He takes her hand in his he tells her reassuringly, "And I usually do not bring someone home before having at least two dates. Nor do I make it a habit of kissing persons who are three sheets to the wind. However, I think neither of us were totally ourselves last night. Now, can I offer you some breakfast, or do you have too much of a hangover?"

"Breakfast would be very nice, thank you. And I don't have too much of a hangover."

"Good, I hoped you would not," replies Adrian as goes into the kitchen to make coffee and tea. "I woke you up periodically to make sure you drank a lot of water. That flushes the alcohol from your system much faster, thus leaving less alcohol to play havoc with your head."

Michele fights the urge to say, "Aww!" The thought of Adrian keeping vigil over her warms her heart.

Instead, she walks over to the small table next to the wall in the kitchen, picks up the phone receiver, and calls Daniel. "Hey there, big brother. Yeah, sorry about that... I'm at... yeah, exactly. Yes, yes, I'll be there later today. Okay, I'll see you later, Dan."

"How is Daniel? I hope he was not too worried I failed to call and let him know I would not be bringing you home last night?" Adrian comes out of the kitchen and hands her a cup of coffee. He sits down on his beige leather couch again, looks up, and beckons her closer. She walks over to where he is sitting, taking in the beautiful and richly decorated apartment, her eyes travel around the room and lands on a familiar painting.

This time she can't stop herself from saying it. "Aww. Adrian, you bought one of my paintings?" Michele's voice is heavy with emotion as she stands up and extends her hand to touch her work, but she doesn't know if she's allowed and she turns around to face him with glistening eyes. Suddenly, he appears by her side if by magic, since he moved fast and silently. He puts a hand on her shoulder and with the other one he lifts her chin to make her look at him.

"Of course I bought one of your paintings. Actually, I own two—the other one is in my office, and I plan on purchasing at least one more tomorrow at your auction."

"Thank you, but... you don't have to, you know? It's incredibly nice of you, but... I'm sure you could get way better paintings for..."

"I like your brush work and your color interpretation. Also the Jackson Pollock influence in your latest works amazes me. If you think I am only doing this because we know each other, you are indeed mistaken. I am a great fan of art and Daniel always mentions to his friends whenever any of your paintings are being shown in New York. I attended auction for the first time last year and liked what I saw." He continued to hold her gaze. "You have great talent, Michele."

After breakfast, Adrian offers Michele the use of his shower to freshen up. She gladly accepts, briefly worrying that she didn't have any make-up beyond what was in her small clutch purse, only to realise that Adrian probably wouldn't care anyway.

The two of them stay together all day, walking through the streets of Manhattan, taking a particularly leisurely stroll through Central Park. All the while, they have meaningful and intellectual conversation, simply enjoying the company learning more about each other. Dinner time came around again and Adrian finally brings Michele back to her brother's house. As soon as she walks through the door, she can hear Daniel asking her about her day. She makes her way to the kitchen where he is busying himself around the stove, making spaghetti. She leans against the counter next to her brother, beaming.

"Oh, Dan! I had such an amazing day. We walked around Central Park and we had lunch in a little bistro, just talking all day, you know. It was so great. I know Adrian's brilliant but the things he knows, it's crazy. I can talk about arts with him and he actually understands. Oh! And did you know that he owns two of my paintings?" She tries not to sound like a 16 year-old girl with a crush, but knows very well she isn't succeeding, yet being incapable of stopping herself. Daniel hands her a glass of red wine and pours one for himself before filling up two plates and sitting down for dinner.

"I'm glad you had a good day! Adrian's a great guy. But now, I have to know what is that big, important news that you mentioned in you last letter? I've been excited to hear it for almost a month!"

Michele takes a sips of wine, she's not to sure how her brother will react to such news. Sure, he sounds happy now, but... Taking a deep breath and talking more to her plate than to the man sitting next to her, she says, "I'll need your help with something, Daniel."

He stares at her, she can feel it. After a moment, she half-whispers, "I'd need you to look for apartments for me... I wanna move back to New York..."

The world moves really fast for a second, Michele realizes that Dan has grabbed her over the table in a tight hug. He doesn't say anything, he just holds her, his eyes closed and a great smile on his face. She smiles too, patting his back, feeling a bit stupid about thinking he might not be happy to have her back in New York. But considering what happened the last time they saw each other...

He lets her go and takes off his glasses and busies himself by cleaning them with his shirt. Michele sees he's got tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Why would you need an apartment... I've got an empty room here that you could use, you know. That is, of course, if you want?" His voice is shaky, thick with hope and joy.

"You're serious, Dan? You'd want me to come and live here with you? You're sure...?" Michele had honestly not expected this and she is mystified; she knew he'd probably help her find a place to rent, but staying with him hadn't crossed her mind. Well, it would be easier than getting an apartment, and it's better than getting a roommate that I wouldn't know.

"Of course I'm sure. You're my sister and I love you, if I can help you out I will. The room is yours if you think you can handle living with your older brother again."

"In that case, it's settled. I'll come and live with you, big brother!" She gets up and walks over to hug him. It feels so good to realize that whatever happens Dan is still here, regardless of all their fights, their different lifestyles, he's still her big brother who's always ready to help her out and take care of her. He was her hero when they were young, and somehow, strangely enough, regardless of his "nightly activities", he still is.

"Now if we are going to be living together again, I think there's something we need to discuss beforehand." Daniel seems a bit embarrassed as he looks across the table, his hand scratching the the back of his head. "I tried to hide it from you, and well, I didn't really succeed, but I continued to... huh... fight crime at nights..."

"Dan, do you really think I didn't know before I came? We have newspapers and televisions in France too, you know. I've kept checking the news while I was away just making sure you're okay and all that."

Daniel's head jerks up and he just stares for a moment, is eyebrows growing closer, incomprehension writing itself all over his face. "Wait, you... you knew? But... I thought you..."

"You thought I was still pissed off about that 'my big brother dresses up as an owl and goes out at night to kick bad guys asses'? Come on, Dan. I grew up. It still scares the crap out of me to know that you might get killed by some Knot Top crackhead or something and it probably always will, but that's because you're my brother and I care for you. Whatever you do at nights is your business Dan, you're an adult free to make your own decisions. What I screamed to you that night when we fought was just... Dad had just died and you were out there all nights when I wanted you to be home with me, to take care of me, to grieve with me. It felt like you just didn't care that he died or that I was sad, all that seemed important to you was your superhero stuff. It hurt, Dan. I felt abandoned by both you and Dad." She pushes her plate aside, not feeling hungry at all anymore and looks down at her hands. They should have had this conversation long ago; way too much had been left unsaid since she'd left three years ago.

"I didn't know you felt like that. I assumed you just thought it was silly just like he did. One thing you didn't realize though...is that maybe it was my way of grieving. I've thrown myself in this because it kept me from feeling that pain. Out there, saving people, I felt like I was strong enough to deal with all this, I felt useful. And when you left, I felt like a piece inside of me died. Now, I've thrown myself even further into all this, I did everything I could not think about him or you and even if I blamed all my crime-fighting for loosing you and disappointing him. But I still needed it all at the same time—it was the only thing that still made sense in my life—I had people who thought I was doing a great job as a vigilante and it felt good to find somebody whom I hadn't disappointed somehow. That's why I continued and that's why I tried to hide it from you. I want things to go back to the way they were."

Michele gets up and walks over to Dan and just wraps her arms around him. She hates herself for what she has put him through, she feels guilty. Unfortunately, she has always been like that; quick to judge, stubborn and too quick to act, saying or doing things she always winds up regretting. As she holds him, she can feel that the man who spends his nights outside as a strong superhero is cracking up underneath her, he is sobbing. Daniel has always been extremely sensitive and Michele never understood how it was even possible that he'd have the nerves to deal with all the things he must see on his nightly patrols. She's not sure how long they stay like this, embracing each other reassuringly.

"Dan, what happens here? Superhero-wise, I mean."

Daniel removes his glasses and cleans them with his shirt again. She knows he's just trying to buy some time. He sighs before answering: "Well, the other vigilantes and I usually meet here every once in a while when we have big things happening. And sometimes, as you already saw yesterday, some of them might drop here with information or something similar. I guess we'll just find some other place to meet, I don't want to jeopardize your safety or your privacy..."

"As you wish Dan, but it's your house first and foremost, if you want to continue to have your meetings here, just tell me when you want me out of here... Of course, it would feel safer if there wasn't a risk that I woke up in with that crazy dude in golden tights prancing about the house. I've seen him in the the papers." She giggles a bit at the thought.

"Pffft. I don't think you need to worry about Ozymandias at all."

"Who do I need to worry about. then?" She's just teasing him, she can't explain why but she's feeling better now; this honest conversation just took off a weight that had been on her shoulders for years. She pulls her spaghetti back to her and eats some even if it's almost cold since her rumbling stomach doesn't mind.

"No one, of course. You're my sister, you'll be safe, but I rather not see Rorschach close to you." She gives him a raised eyebrow, she wants to know more. "I know him, and normally I wouldn't worry, but something happened recently and... he changed... I'm kinda worried he might snap. He'd probably hate me for sharing stuff about him, but I want you to know what's going on. And since he has those... issues with women... I'd feel much better if he wasn't around you. I'm probably worried without reason, but still... It's my big brother paranoia talking and I want you safe."

"Thanks, Dan."

As the evening continues they discuss their lives, Michele asks more questions about Dan's group and he gets passionate in his explanations, telling her how they first met, and how an old Minuteman, Captain Metropolis, wanted them to create a crime-fighting group "The Crimebusters", a name they ended up changing to "Watchmen" since that's what people on the street calls them. Some were really in favor, some not at all. It took three meetings of bitching and complaining and debating upon debating before they finally settled on bi-monthly meetings, city patrolling schedules, and ways to communicate when someone is in danger or needs help on a case. Not so much a group, but more of a help network.

She loves seeing him so happy and excited about something other than birds and mythology. When he's done telling her about his group, he's the one who starts asking questions about her life in France. Michele tells him about her small and rather dingy apartment, her crazy neighbors, and what it's like to try and be an artist in a city that is home to so many others with the same dream. He asks her to speak in French and then teases her on the tiny French accent she got from her time there. Michele knows she should probably go to bed, tomorrow is going to be a long day both physically and emotionally with the auction, lunch with Adrian and Dan, then off to the airport back to France. But she doesn't want to move from the kitchen table. Time passes without them realizing, somehow it's like everything changed while staying exactly the same, it's past 2 am when they finally say good night.

"I can't wait to have you here all the time."

"I can't wait to be here all the time. I've missed you, big brother."

"I've missed you too."  
***

This was supposed to be only the first part of chapter 3 but it stretched longer. I hope you didn't find it dull, I know it wasn't really full of action, but I though it was a pretty moment between Michele and Dan, and I really didn't want to cut it out. With Michele moving in with Dan's, what do you think will happen?

**  
Author's Note:** I know I screwed up the Fanon that Adrian is probably gay, and I would like to explain my reason before getting flamed for it. I always though that Adrian would be with any person who would manage to attract him intellectually. I think he wouldn't date according to gender, to me, he is bisexual. Also about Adrian, some will say I kept the accent from the movie, but the reason is actually that when I was reading the Graphic Novel, I could hear Adrian with a bit of a German accent! (You can imagine I squee'ed in the theater when I heard that accent!)

**Author's Note 2:** I realized after finishing writing this chapter that the Roche Case happened in the summer in the Graphic Novel, but for this universe, I decided it happened in early 1975.

**  
Answers to reviews:  
****-Nellodee:** Thanks you for being my first reviewer. I'm glad of your constructive comments and I hope this chapter helped settle my own little Universe a bit better.  
**-TattooKitty:** Your review made me smile, I'm glad you enjoyed the Rorschach and Michele moment. Hopefully you ain't too disapointed he wasn't in this chapter.  
**-Savvy0X:** I hope I didn't raise more Sue-flags *I love this expression btw.* in this chapter. If I did, feel free to point them out!  
**-Megumisakura:** Did I update fast enough? ;)  
**-Sun-Sun Kat:** The answer to your question was in this chapter I think. Dan is just having "big brother paranoia" and since it's so soon after the Roche case he knows Rorschach just went through some big changes and he's not sure if he isn't just loosing it! I hope you liked this chapter.  
**-Mrs. Spike Spectre:** Thanks for the comment darling. ;)  
**-Ritsuka-hanya: **Thanks for your "vote". Lol.  
**-SakuraXgaara15:** I'm not sure if Rorschach and Michele's relationship could be considered cute, but it will surely be interesting!  
**-Plummet:** I'm glad you like Michele, she's a fun little character. :D  
-**ArmoredSoul: **I was hoping someone would feel like this, the idea of Dan screaming at Rorschach is hilarious in my mind but the mental image I get from imagining Rorschach really not getting what in the heck is going on is enough to make me roll on the floor laughing!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added me to their story alerts, it makes me extremely happy and proud! To those who added me to their favorites, I have to admit that I squee'ed when I got the notifications. **- .T T.**


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